Painless
by Nightmarishx
Summary: After Deathly Hallows, Hermione needs comfort... and Ron is there. Oneshot. My first attempt at Harry Potter! Fluffy goodness.


Author's note: So I'm flat-out terrified to write a Harry Potter fic! I'm starting with a one-shot, solely because I want to start small. I'm afraid because it's such a wonderful thing, the series, and I'm afraid to mess up or be severely judged.  
>Criticism is LOVED, though, and the more reviews the more confidence I get to write an ACTUAL fic! 3<br>Feel free for requests too, it'd make things fun. :o  
>So anyway! I hope this is good!<p>

* * *

><p>It was a rare moment of peace and quiet. They were at the Burrow, crowded as per usual, but they had the room locked to themselves for the time being. They needed to get away for a bit. Mrs. Weasley was probably going to be furious, but for now it was fine.<p>

"Oh, Ron…" Hermione groaned, sitting on the floor with her chin on her knees. Her slim arms were wrapped around her legs, a nearly protective gesture. Her hair was unkempt and unbrushed, and she wore a baggy nightshirt and shorts. She had woken up around 4am, from a nightmare...of that night...

"I know, 'Mione…" Ron responded, leaning over his bed so he could touch Hermione's shoulder, trying desperately to comfort her in some way. He just didn't really know how.

"It's so hard!" She exclaimed, looking up at Ron. "It's only been a few weeks but...I don't know. I just don't." She squeezed her eyes shut as a shudder went through her body, and a few stray tears leaked down her cheeks.

Ron sighed and shut his eyes. He climbed off the bed to face Hermione, and pulled her from her curled position to face him, nearly in his lap. "Hermione, not everyone was lost and a lot of us still have a future…_we_ still have a future! Stop putting yourself down, you have to…to try to move on. It's okay for it to hurt, 'Mione, and it will hurt. We all lost people we love. But… we can get through. George is here, mum's here, Harry's here... I'm here, aren't I?" He felt awkward; he didn't know how to comfort her. Hermione was the rational one...not him. Hermione was strong. Usually.

Her eyes grew wide, and she tilted her head to the side. A portion of her hair fell over her eyes, and Ron instinctively drew the hair behind her ear, but her gaze never wavered. "What?" He asked.

"_We_ still have a future?" She asked, her voice small. He couldn't believe this was the same loud, pushy, know-it-all girl he had known since his first year at Hogwarts. She seemed nearly a shell of herself at this moment.

Ron raised one eyebrow. His thoughts suddenly decided to become jumbled, but a small part told him she was getting at something here. "Y-yeh, we still have a future." He ran a hand through his shaggy red hair, feeling like he should say more but... hell, like he knew what else to say.

"Us? …together?" Hermione looked terrified, and Ron felt…awkward. Too awkward. He couldn't really think of what to say in a situation like this. Since they kissed they…well, hadn't really discussed much or done much more. He knew there was more-than-friends stuff going on. But he didn't know how to go about being more than friends. She was still 'Mione, after all. But, he was pretty sure she was getting at something.

"Yeah, us, together." He said, slightly embarrassed at the crack in his voice. Like he was experienced at this! Especially with 'Mione, the big-toothed, bushy haired little girl who had grown up to be a fantastic and beautiful witch…how was he supposed to handle this?

"Oh. Well, then...alright. Well I'll try harder to focus on now, then. No one would want us to be sad- especially not Fred, or Tonks, or Lupin, right? So let's put the focus on our future and where we're going...shall we?" The brisk tone returned to Hermione's voice, and she seemed to perk up all of a sudden. "It will all end up alright, in the long run."

Ron was flabbergasted. She changed her tone that quickly. "Bloody hell, woman…" He grumbled, shaking his head incredulously. He drew in a heavy breath, and grabbed Hermione's face between his hands. He had never quite realized how fine and delicate her bone structure was…nor how smooth her skin.

Hermione's breath caught, and she brought her hands around his neck, twining her fingers in his ginger curls. "Ron..?" She nearly whispered, breath hitching in her throat, before Ron closed the space between them, kissing her surprisingly gently, with strangely soft lips. This kiss was different from before- no shock, no 'I was worried, you twit', nothing of the sort...just them. Nothing else but themselves, finally...cementing everything.

It seemed to last forever, and it was wonderful.

"'Mione, I—" Ron stammered as they pulled apart, blue eyes staring into brown.

"I love you, Ron." Hermione interrupted, knowing full well that's what Ron was going to say. The smile that lit up his freckled face made Hermione's own smile shine through, and she nearly collapsed on Ron, hugging him tightly. He held her in his arms.

Everything wasn't quite alright, and the process to heal would be a long one, but for that moment, things seemed so right, and so okay.


End file.
